If someone is obsessed with car parts they can become a good mechanic if they choose to pursue it.<p>But isn't the other thing possible? Someone starts to learn about car parts by being a mechanic apprentice and then falls in love with it and learn more?<p>Many many people who are good at programming say that they loved the craft from when they were a kid and built projects in the home computer.<p>What if someone wasn't fortunate enough to have a computer at home? Is there anyone who learnt programming later in a course or in some other way just to see what this new thing is and then fell in love and eventually dived in?<p>What is your story?
I think the challenge is what lured many of us into programming. If you're challenged trying to solve a hard problem, it can keep you going. Once you accomplish it, you're hungry for another. As things become more demystified, however, I think the desire fades somewhat. I can't speak to learning to program later in life, but I imagine it would be the same.